'The army has been open about its determination to keep the PML-Nawaz out of power at all costs.' 'Both the military and the higher judiciary have indicated a preference for Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf,' says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'A resurgent Jaish could be a reflection of the Pakistani security establishment's view that with the region moving ever closer to a post-US Afghanistan, it is time to redirect attention to Kashmir.'
'He knows India is going nowhere.' 'India will never let go of Kashmir, so he wants to settle with India.' 'Settle honourably with peace, dignity and justice.'
'It is the ability to fight back.' 'Obviously, you need skill to win a game of cricket, but the biggest thing is the resilience and the conviction to bounce back and the conviction to go and win abroad or anywhere.' 'I think that conviction is what stands out.'
'Against the backdrop of difficult administrative, political and economic problems, Imran's temperament and staying power will be the subject of intense expectation and public scrutiny,' says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'They have realised that class war is not possible in India, so they are trying to bring about a caste war.'
'All the things that went into bringing Yakub Memon back to India between 1993 and 1994 must be recorded in that file. Raman would have submitted his findings to the prime minister on file; in writing.'
'Members of the legal fraternity say Yakub Memon cooperated more than what investigators could have ever hoped for, providing information about Dawood Ibrahim and Yakub's elder brother 'Tiger' Memon, the masterminds behind the planning and execution of the Mumbai serial blasts.'
I well remember the article you have published because prior to sending it to you, he had shown it to me and I can vouch for its contents in the form in which you have published it. That was why I gave the permission to Rediff.com for publishing it,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished retired IAS officer who himself handled intelligence matters for nine years.
Pakistan made a tactical error in not investing enough in L K Advani, former R&AW chief A S Dulat tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
'Journalists and intelligence officials do a similar job -- collect information.' Three former RAW officials tell Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com that they see nothing wrong in Ved Prakash Vaidik meeting Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Muhammad Saeed.
'Kulbhushan Jadhav is a very sad case.' 'I think Pakistan handled this issue very clumsily.' 'They gave too much of publicity and also said that they will hang him.' 'Now obviously, they are not going to hang him.'
Former RAW Additional Secretary Jayadeva Ranade tells Rediff.com's Upasna Pandey that India needs to be extremely cautious and watchful of the estimated 35-40 Indians who may have joined the ISIS in Iraq and may return to the country.
'The NIA should be the first to investigate a case of terror and not take over the reins of the state police. We are always re-investigating a case.' The National Investigation Agency is set for a major revamp, both in terms of power and performance.
Abdiev Asliddin scored in each half as Uzbekistan beat India 3-0 in a crucial Group A encounter of the AFC U-29 Championship (Qualifiers) at the Al Arabi Stadium in Doha on Thursday. Abdiev scored at the end of first half and beginning of the second, and set up another goal to hand his side three important points.
'Raman knew everything and was privy to all the details of Yakub's movements'
'While military acts such as the Uri surgical strikes are one option, cultural, economic and diplomatic isolation should also be part of the arsenal,' argues Sankrant Sanu.
'Narendra Modi is a beginner on the national scene. Intelligence and security will be new for him on a national scale. He will succeed if he crosses the bureaucratic barriers. If he entangles himself in these barriers, then I highly doubt he will succeed,' former R&AW agent R K Yadav tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Stephen P Cohen pays tribute to strategic expert B Raman, who passed away recently.
Read what the ex-chief of R&AW, A S Dulat, told our readers on Rediff Chat!
'The response to terror is not always reciprocal terror, nor is launching a conventional response the best response.' 'The best response is to make the sponsor pay a price he cannot afford,' says former RA&W chief Vikram Sood.
'The ISI doesn't trust the Kashmiris. They hate them...' 'We can never take Kashmir for granted, so there is that element of unpredictability. Anything can happen anytime.' 'The next chief minister will still be from the Valley. Even if a BJP chief minister or a BJP chosen candidate comes, he will be from the Valley. And he will be a Muslim.' A S Dulat, the former R&AW chief, on why he is perplexed by the BJP's Mission 44 plan for the J&K assembly election.
'The cooperation of Yakub with the investigating agencies after he was picked up informally in Kathmandu and his role in persuading some other members of the family to come out of Pakistan and surrender constitute, in my view, a strong mitigating circumstance to be taken into consideration while considering whether the death penalty should be implemented,' B Raman had written in August 2007.
'I could have never imagined any other prime minister giving time to a separatist leader.' 'I think the Hurriyat should not be ignored. I think like Pakistan, they are being unnecessarily ignored.' A S Dulat, the former RA&W chief who visited Kashmir recently, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
'I have never seen the Kashmiris in a more conciliatory mood or a more defensive and reasonable mood than I did when I went there in May. All of them said, "raasta nikaliye".' 'Farooq Abdullah has said hundreds of times that the LoC has to be recognised as the international boundary. So that is where the solution lies, it lies on the LoC.' A S Dulat, former RAW chief, explains why he is perplexed by the Modi government's decision to call off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
'The evidence about a plane crash that killed Netaji as stated in the Shahnawaz Committee report, is quite strong.' 'None of the files that I read bear any evidence that it was Nehru who ordered this kind of intrusive surveillance.' 'The government's excuse that declassifying some files may affect India's relations with friendly foreign countries is not a credible one.' Subhas Chandra Bose's grand-nephew and Trinamool Congress MP Sugata Bose on reports that his family was under surveillance for 20 years and the rumours over Nataji's death.